THE HILL | The Alabama A&M University men's basketball team rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to force overtime but could not complete the comeback in falling to Texas Southern, 82-78 in overtime, on Saturday afternoon in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game at the AAMU Event Center.
Alabama A&M (6-13 overall, 2-4 SWAC), which had not beaten Texas Southern since 2008, found themselves down 53-41 with 6:48 remaining in regulation and outscored TSU, 18-10 down the stretch to force overtime. However, the Tigers (8-11, 5-1) jumped out early in overtime and didn't look back to earn their fifth straight victory.
London Riley paced Alabama A&M with 14 points, one rebound and one steal.
Bilal Abdur-Rahman registered 13 points, four assists, three boards and two steals, while
Clance Crosby tied a career high with 10 points and four boards.
Kavion McClain led Texas Southern with a game-high 24 points, including 12 from the foul line, along with seven assists, six rebounds and two steals. Kenny Hunter recorded 19 points, four boards, three steals and two blocks, while Jaylen Wysinger tossed in 10 points, four assists, three boards, two steals and one block.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Texas Southern raced out to an 11-3 advantage after a McClain jumper with 15:43 remaining but back came Alabama A&M as
Chad Moodie's putback dunk pulled the Bulldogs within two, 11-9, with just over 14 minutes to play.
The Tigers quickly pushed the advantage to 17-9 after a Kenny Hunter jumper, but again the Bulldogs kept the game within reach as
Austin Harvell drained a triple, closing the gap to 19-16 with 9:40 remaining.
As Alabama A&M went a bit cold from the floor, Texas Southern got some distance with an 8-0 run, capped by a Josh Farmer 3-pointer, as the Tigers pushed their lead to 27-16 with 5:35 left.
The Bulldogs closed the half strong, using an 8-3 run to cut the deficit to 30-24.
Alabama A&M opened the second half going more than five minutes without a field goal as a
Darius Ford 3-pointer cut TSU's lead to 37-30 and a dunk by
Saliou Seye along with a putback jumper by
Bilal Abdur-Rahman cut the deficit to 39-34 with 11:49 left.
A Kolby Granger trey snapped a nearly three-minute scoring drought for Texas Southern as the Tigers pushed the advantage to 46-37 with just over nine minutes to play.
Granger's putback bucket gave TSU a 53-41 lead with 6:48 remaining but again the Bulldogs simply would not go away as
London Riley drained a three and
Clance Crosby sank four free-throws, cutting the margin to 53-50 with 6:21 left.
Alabama A&M got two free throws by Ford as the Bulldogs climbed to within two points, 56-54, with 2:47 remaining.
However, the Tigers responded with five straight points by McClain, pushing the advantage to 61-54 with just over two minutes left but again AAMU with a big time three as Riley drained the deep ball as the Bulldogs trailed, 61-58 with 1:43 remaining.
Alabama A&M cashed in a turnover from Texas Southern as Riley drained the deep trey as the Bulldogs pulled to within one, 63-62 with 56 seconds left.
The Tigers had an opportunity to extend the lead, but with the shot clock dwindling down, Texas Southern could not get a shot off and the Bulldogs came up with a loose ball, calling timeout with 14.6 seconds remaining.
Texas Southern fouled Ford with 5.3 seconds left and the TCU transfer made the first shot, tying the game at 63. His second shot hit off the back iron and with a tangle on the rebound, a jump ball was called, with the possession arrow facing AAMU with 2.7 seconds left.
Rahman had a great look off the inbound pass and the tip by
Saliou Seye nearly bounced in as time expired, sending the game into overtime.
Texas Southern opened the extra period with five straight points, grabbing a 68-63 lead with 4:11 remaining.
Both teams traded clutch 3-pointers as Texas Southern led 74-68 with 53.9 seconds left.
Alabama A&M could not recover from the big deficit over the final 50 seconds in suffering its fourth consecutive setback.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 33.8 percent (23-of-68) from the floor and 68.8 percent (22-of-32) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs grabbed 40 rebounds, including 25 off the defensive glass
- London Riley tallied14 points, one rebound and one steal
- Bilal Abdur-Rahman registered 13 points, four assists, three boards and two steals,
- Clance Crosby tied a career high with 10 points and four boards
- Alabama A&M finished with 58 bench points, 30 points off 22 Texas Southern turnovers, 22 points in the paint, seven fastbreak points and six second-chance points
- Texas Southern went 26-of-53 shooting (49.1 percent) and 22-of-35 (62.9 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Tigers grabbed 41 rebounds, with 32 coming off the defensive glass
- Kavion McClain tossed a game-high 24 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals
- Kenny Hunter recorded 19 points, four boards, three steals and two blocks
- Jaylen Wysinger tossed in 10 points, four assists, three boards, two steals and one block
- Texas Southern finished with 28 points in the paint, 21 bench points, 17 points off 18 AAMU turnovers, 15 fastbreak points and eight second-chance points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M closes out its three-game homestand on Monday as the Bulldogs play host to Prairie View A&M. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. from the AAMU Event Center and streamed on Bulldogs All-Access.
For complete coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics, check out the official homepage at www.aamusports.com. Remember to follow us on social media: Instagram (@aamuathletics), Facebook (aamubulldogathletics), Twitter (@_aamuathletics) and TikTok (aamuathletics).
